12:45 AM too early for clubbing...

Buenos Aires Travel Blog

What was I going to do? I went to the club at around 1 AM--and it was closed. I was told to come back at around 2 AM. They were right, in LA, people think about coming home at that time. In BA, the clubs are only getting started at 2 AM. Walking back to my hotel--people were in the streets lining up, or the resturants were full.

Back at the hostel--spent an hour killing time on the internet. By the time 2 AM rolled by I was tired and wanting sleep. The clock slowly moved to 2:30 AM and it was time to leave. I did think about staying in, but not going out in the city that never sleeps would seem like a crime which I was not about to caught.

Arriving at the club, I did not know how much to pay. I put down a 20 peso note, he signed that more need to be paid. I then put down 2 notes, and I was given back 10 pesos and a card. What was I meant to do with the card?

The music was pumping on the first floor, but I was not really feeling it. Walking to the second floor, it felt more ´intimate´ since there was no place to move. People were jammed there.

The crowd lookd to be about 18 - 25 years old. I felt a little overdressed with dress slacks and a nice shirt. Some men had jeans, sneakers, shorts and a normal shirt.

Men started wanting me to dance with the women. There were few black men in the club, and no black ladies. A drink in hand I started dancing and having fun. Even though I was nervous, I really did not care what people thought of my dancing skills. I will admit--I was one of the odd black person there. A girl introduced me to her friend, but she was not interested in dancing.

Around 3:30 AM, I moved downstairs and the party for me really started happening. A girl asked me to dance and we danced for about an hour. Before I knew it--it was time for my new friend to leave. So--it was time for me to head back upstairs. A guy pointed at a girl for me and we just started dancing. He was a good dancer and he really knew most of the moves--Alas I did not. Going to the club reminded me again about the goodtime that I had been missing in LA and I vowed to go dancing more often.

Downstairs--the Pros were back on stage and everyone stopped to see theirr moves and see them dance with other females. It was alot of fun. Before I knew it--dawn had already broken and it was time to leave. Leaving the club--a light rain was falling but I was happy. I had had a great night--and there was so much to do during the day no matter what else happened. Looking around the were lots of people leaving clubs and having breakfast. I was a little tired--but did not care.

Around 7 AM--I crawled into my bed. One of my roommates had left already--now there were four.

9 AM and the sound of people getting up made me wake fully up. The two girls were going to the football game. There was also noise outside the window, but I was not about to find out what it was.

Shower, breakfast and I would see what the day would bring. The weather was meant to be cloudly, but around noon the sun came out and was not about to retire. It was time to go out and find San Telmo--the Land of Tango.

Walking down Av. De Mayo, I saw people in purple--I wondered what they up to? Was it some type of political parade? Turn right--down Av. Defense and I was in San Telmo. I thought that people would be sleeping in from all the partying this morning--I was wrong. The street was filled with people, stalls. There were a few people doing Tango but all they were doing were allowing people to take their picture with them. Looking at stalls--I looked for my friend´s charm.

People were selling orange juice for between 3 -5 pesos. I saw group of black brazillians which made me feel less alone. Tango--before I knew it--it was upon me. There was a group of people playing the music of Argentina and I loved it. I was handed a flyer to go into this restuarant to hear some Tango--big disappointment and I soon exited. On the street though there was this group who were doing Tango and I loved it. The man´s voice was very moving and soon a crowd gathered. Alas--the group only played for about another 30 minutes.

Walking back to the hostel, I bargained for 5 more gifts for my friends back in the States. I also decided to send one of my gifts to my new friends in Brazil. Him and his wife chances of getting to BA, were pretty slim and I thought that they would really love this gift. Sometimes you meet people and you know that you would like to become friends for a long time--him and his wife were those kind of people.

Back at the hostel, it was time to update my Friday blog--I was trying to keep it alittle more up todate. I also found out that the crowd that I saw earlier--was from a church. Around 6 PM, the group was outside my window. Alas--at that time I wanted to catch up on some of my sleep but that was not going to happen. The group was fighting the undead. There were a least a couple of hundred people in the streets--and made me think of a fair--food sellers cooking food and meat on the portable stoves, people selling drinks, etc. I took a couple of pictures.

I talked to my dorm friends about going out to dinner together. Alas--they thought they were going out at 9 PM, I was going to a Tango show at that time.

Around 9 PM, Tango awaited me--just to be told that it actually started at 9:15 PM. I was offered a couple of menus but all I wanted was to see the show. There were about 20 people to see the show, and I was very glad that I went. The show was very good. I also descided at the last moment to get a couple of pictures of me taken with a dancer. It was one of those nights that I was glad that I was in BA, but sad again that I did not have my camera.

Around 11 PM, I was back at the hostel, killing time. I was going out again.